Expert: Roger Lederer - 5/24/2007

Question
Our house painter was moving a climbing pyracantha from the exterior wall to paint this morning, when suddenly he was surrounded by alarmed robins; he stopped trying to get to it and planned to come back after the "eggs had hatched". I got home 15 minutes later and saw there was a young robin on the ground by our front door-- as soon as the painter left, I found the baby further out in the yard (closer and closer to my next door neighbor, whose cats are prowling through our yard whenever our dog isn't there (and, curses, our deck was being painted so dog not allowed loose(electric fence) for 3 more days. I caught the baby to return it to the nest, but the nest had been torn out of its branches and was dangling and barely together. I propped it up and replaced the baby (both parents in close attendance), which immediately fell/jumped. It seems uninjured and able to hop somewhat awkwardly. I (have 3 young kids who needed to be somewhere with friends a few minutes from then)rushed through the house unable to find a basket (called local audubon) and then grabbed a "pop-up" toy cube from the garage--its walls are netting and the top edges prob. not sturdy enough for an adult to perch on... but could maneuver it into the tree about 4 feet off ground and attach it securely by its handles. inside, I placed the broken nest, a bunch of sticks (adult could be supported) some grass and the baby. I could see parent approach with worms/insects in the following 30 minutes, but not whether they could reach the guy. It will NOT survive on my ground.
Right before I left, I decided to give it a worm. I then found a second baby, in a dazed sort of state, directly under the basket. Its chirp was weaker and it appeared less developed (smaller, fewer feathers, more head fuzz), so I added it to the cube--I fed each of them an earthworm rinsed dechlorinated water (we keep fish) and was gone till dusk. One parent was in a nearby oak, and I could hear a rustle from the cube. After kids were in bed, I went our with flashlight and could see from the sidewalk that one of the babies was in the "nest" corner and still perky, which I guess means the parents were successful at getting access. But does it mean that?
Sorry to be so detailed, but the question is really about the parents being able to maintain access to the birds (if the second is still alive) a) what should I do??
b)what can I rig better? this netty box has a nylon floor--I could raise the bottom by filling it with more grassy debris, but would I cause the parents to leave?? c) if the second bird dies in that container, can we just reach in to get the body out? d) if either bor both is/are alive in the morning, does that mean they are being looked after? How will I know that it/they will be OK, or at least have the usual chance of survival in this suburban neighborhood.
I feel very bad that these two (maybe there was a third??) made it this far only to have us humans mess things up for them. I would have spent the afternoon watching and calling wildlife people here if I'd been able. The bigger bird is about 3 to 4 inches long, I'd say. I had to cup my second hand over it to keep it from jumping out, and it was a decent handful.
Thanks for any help. Penny

Answer
Wow, what a story. Let me tell you this - young birds jump out of the nest at about 10-14 days of age, before they are fully feathered and before they can fly. The common notion is that the babies "fell" out of the nest. But they rarely do. They jump to the ground and the parents feed them on the ground for another 10-14 days, which is what seems to be happening here. Best thing to do is let parents have access to them. Do not try to put them in any sort of nest - they don't need it. Yes, they are at risk from predators, but that's what happens in nature. Cats and dogs are an additional risk, however, so if you can control them, all the better. The two best things to do are 1) leave it to the parent birds or, in extreme circumstances, call local wildlife folks. Thanks for your concern. Roger Lederer at Ornithology.com